Greece: Macedonia and Meteora

After staying the night in Thessaloniki, we headed north west into the foothills of the Pindus Mountain Range. This whole time, we had been traveling through the area which would have once made up ancient Macedonia. In Troas, Paul was met by a Macedonian man in his dream. So, of course, we had to make a very important stop: the royal tombs of Vergina! Here, we would get to go into an underground museum which had preserved the remains of the tombs of the Macedonian kings, specifically, the tomb of Philip the II of Macedon, Alexander the Great's father, known for being the first man to unite the bickering Polis' of Greece under one common rule even though he was from a land considered Barbaric to the rest of the Greeks. He was a man who changed the course of history as this act gave Alexander the Great the power and force he would need to conquer the rest of the known world.

This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. These were artifacts I had read about many times. I knew how important they were. What was more impressive even then the splendor and craftsmanship of the grave-goods was to see the beginning of a new era reflected in the artwork of the Argead Kings. Scythian, Thracian, and Persian influences clearly mark their craftsmanship, further marking the beginning of Hellenism: the movement of Greek thought across the east, connecting two distinct parts of the world through art, religion, and education. This was a phenomenon that would not only lead to the radical acceleration of cultural advancement around the world, but one which also set the stage for the coming of Jesus and the spread of the Gospel message to the ends of the earth.

And beside, this museum was just really cool. I mean, it was underground. You had to descend a long tunnel which lead to a dimly lit room with a low rounded ceiling and dim lights that lit up the broken remains of underground tombs and made the gold and silver treasures sparkle with more luster then they would have in the sunlight.

The tomb of Philip II of Macedon

Philip's iron greaves. Notice that the greaves are
not the same height. Many believe this is because Philip wounded
his leg in battle and was crippled for life. The short greave
may have compensated for such an injury

Philip's quiver, which is of a Scythian design

The ceremonial armor of Philip

A ceremonial shield carved of ivory

Philip's gold laurel wreath, the leafs are so thin that
they tremble when you blow on them.

A bowl with the head of a Satyr on the bottom.
A little surprise when you finish your meal.

Silver dish ware terminating in the head
of a swan. This is typical of Persian finery rather than Greek finery. Here,
you can clearly see the Persian influence.

Strigils that would have been used to scrape olive oil
of the skin after athletic training.

After visiting the tombs, we headed into the mountains. This far north, the mountains were very lush and green and as we drove, a heavy thunderstorm settled over the hills. Making our way up a winding road that led to our mountaintop hotel, I saw a lone shepherd leading his sheep across the mountain slope and I thought of the shepherds who wandered these hills thousands of years ago who would have thought that they distant roll of thunder was the sound of Zeus's wrath.

Apparently, this hotel was one of the top rated hotels in the world. When we got inside, a man immediately came up to me and offered me a cup of mountain tea while another man took my suitcase from me. When I went to dinner, someone pulled out my chair for me. I felt like royalty. They served us a six course meal in bite sized pieces to seal the deal.

The next site we visited was not ancient. It is a cluster of monasteries perched precariously on the tops of gigantic stone pinnacles. If you have ever watched Avatar the Last Airbender, you will know what I mean when I say that it reminded me of the air temples.

There are six active monasteries at Meteora and we visited three. They were so fun to explore. Since they conform to their small perch, they are full of oddly shaped courtyards, rock cut staircases, and winding colonnades.

However, our tour guide was not my favorite. She wanted to teach us about every icon painted in the chapels. This got old pretty fast, so in the last monastery, I wandered off and finished the tour on my own before going back to the courtyard that overlooked the mountain range and falling asleep in the shade of a little olive tree. My professor had to come wake me up when we left. 10/10 napping location.

Originally, I had more picture of this location. However, when I was traveling back the USA, I lost my phone, and along with it, I lost quite a few of my undownloaded photos.

Found this little guy at lunch time. So cute.

We left Meteora to head deeper into the Pindus Mountains on our way to Mount Parnassus and the famous City of Apollo: Delphi. On our way south, we had to travel through the Pass of Thermopylae. Does that name ring a bell? If it doesn't, it should! This is none other then the pass that Leonidas and his 300 Spartans defended against the army of the Persian invader, Xerxes (husband of Queen Esther). Before we entered the pass, we had the chance to stop at the hill where the Spartans would have defended the pass. This was one moment I had been looking forward to the entire trip. Everyone kept telling me not to get my hopes up, it was nothing fancy. Certainly nothing like the tombs of the Macedonian Kings. It was just a hill and a small memorial. As if I cared, it isn't all about what you can see. Sometimes it's just the opportunity to stand in places that hold such great weight. I wasn't there just to see riches and towering temples, I was there to be immersed in the history, to partake in the memory of it and make it my own. What an honor to stand on the hill where men fought, knowing they would die, for their home. And not only that, but the Spartans, 300 in number along with 700 Thebians, remained at the pass after sending the Athenians home to evacuate their wives and children. The Spartans had been at war with Athens for 28 years, yet they still laid down their lives for them. Although the Spartans could not defeat Xerxes army, which numbered between 70,000 and 300,000 men, their defense delayed the Persians for two days. This gave the Athenians the time they needed to evacuate their city and rally their naval forces in Salamis, a victory which changed the tide of the war.

On our way to the memorial, I noticed a small blue stream with banks caked with minerals, similar to Yellowstone and Thermopolis back home in Wyoming. I remember thinking to myself "oh that's cool. There is a hot spring here," only to think to myself ten minutes later, "No duh Afton, the pass is called "Thermal gate." I had to chuckle at myself for that one.

We pulled over at the site memorial. It was a simple statue of Leonidas that had been placed there after the city of Sparta rejected it because Leonidas was depicted nude which the modern Spartans found absurd because no one goes into battle nude. Our tour coordinator Erin told us that we had five minutes to look at the memorial and pointed out the hill on the other side of the road where the 300 Spartans had fought and died, but told us she was not allowed to let us cross the highway and that we didn't have time to go anyways. Well, that wasn't a very good argument in my opinion. I sidled up next to her, twiddling my thumbs and meekly asked, "What if I ran, Erin?"

She shook her head, "it is a legal issue. I'm not allowed to let you cross the road."

Que my dramatic sigh.

Que her relenting sigh as she turned around, "You have two minutes to go and come back. If I don't watch, then I am not accountable."

I smiled as I dashed away (looking both ways when I crossed the road, of course).

As I ran, I could hear my friends shouting encouragement after me, and when I reached the top of the hill, everyone started cheering for me. And I know its cheesy, and I know everything I have said up to this point has been pretty cheesy, but when everyone started cheering, I didn't feel like they were cheering for me, but for those 300 men. I was overwhelmed by the thought of it, and my first thought was to whisper a small prayer of gratitude. Halfway through, I started wondering why I was thanking God for the sacrifice of men who did not die for me or anyone I knew.

At the top of the hill, there is a small epitaph which reads, "O stranger, go tell the Lacedaemonians that here, obedient to their laws, we lie." One of the Spartan laws is to never surrender. It is this law that the epitaph refers to.

This was one of the most inspiring experiences I had on my trip, and I'm so thankful to Erin for allowing me to have that opportunity.